1. Field of the invention
The invention relates to an improved vehicle mounting assembly for a combination salt spreader and hopper. The assembly's intended use is for utility vehicles such as pick-up trucks. The mounting assembly is designed to allow the spreader/hopper to swing from either side of a truck bed side wall for the purpose of allowing full access to the rear of the vehicle's cargo bed via the tailgate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
salt spreading is a general requirement of winter road maintenance in many areas. Over the years, private business has become involved in road and driveway maintenance in the form of snow removal and salt spreading. Private business commonly uses pick-up trucks to perform this type of work. In the past, numerous types of salt spreaders have been developed to be attached to these conventional type vehicles. Thus, there is a need for affordable salt spreaders which are compatible with conventional light and heavy duty pick-up trucks.
In the past, salt spreader mounting assemblies used in conjunction with pick-up trucks have fastened onto the truck's rear bumper or tailgate. The usual procedure is that at the beginning of the winter season these devices are secured to the truck in a fixed position by means of a system of bolts. Because of the relative difficulty in installing the assemblies they are often left on all winter, not being removed until the spring season. Other more temporary devices for the same intended purpose do exist, one type having arms that slide over the tailgate and rest on the vehicle's bumper.
When installed, both the "bolt-on" and "slide-on" configurations restrict access to the rear of the vehicle's cargo box via the tailgate. If removal is required or desired, the bolt-on system must be unbolted and the slide-on system must have its hopper emptied so that it can be lifted off, as a typical load of salt would weigh several hundred pounds. Obviously, both methods require considerable labor and expense to simply gain access to the cargo bed for loading or unloading. The end result is that these systems are typically left on the vehicle all winter, and if access is desired to the cargo bed it has to be over the side wall of the vehicle.
As a result these conventional salt spreader mounting assemblies require operators to lift cargo, namely bags of road salt, up over the side walls of the truck bed manually. This results in additional labor costs, inconvenience and possible injury. The restricted access to the cargo bed also reduces the convenience and utility of owning a vehicle with a rear entry cargo bed. Thus, there is a need for a salt spreader mounting assembly that will allow relatively easy access to the rear of the vehicle's cargo area.